Archives for 2021

2021 - Page 9 of 13

Start with Art: Girl with a Tinsel Scarf by William John Leech

May 19, 2021 She Knew It... As soon as she handed her 2 (very large) suitcases to the airline staff, she knew she wasn't going to see them again ANY time soon...

But she's an inspired woman!

Because she's taking SO much stuff with her, she doesn't really have a clear palette for her entire travel wardrobe, but for her carry-on, she has ideas...

After she thought about it for a few days, she realized that she could, in her carry-on bag, bring along enough clothes to get her through a few days if (when?) the rest of her bags go roaming without her...

So she started by establishing a color palette for this segment of her overall travel gear, and chose lightweight clothes and flat shoes to pack more easily.

This ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #10 – short-sleeved textured top

May 17, 2021

I know that I describe this top as "textured" in order to be consistent with the way that I described things like cabled sweaters... What I'm looking for here is a warm-weather top with some visual interest - something more than just a tee shirt...

A print makes perfect sense for spring and summer, so don't be terribly bound by the idea of texture!

A simple pleated top in a pretty color can change the look of anything with which you wear it!

I actually saw a man on the street the other day in a seersucker suit, white shirt, pink madras tie and pink pocket square. Pink socks and white bucks.... He looked amazing!

Even if you're wearing shorts, a sweater can be about a million times more ... View the Post

Accessory Accent Colors – Pantone Fall 2021/22

May 14, 2021

Just when it feels as if we're NEVER going to wear warm weather clothes, and when all of my things start to look... too familiar... some new colors (ahem...) are introduced! Some fresh accessories could brighten up our cold-weather clothes as they finish their run, or could be all you need for warmer weather!

yes, there are THREE shades of blue in these 10 colors - I used these sandals more than once, because frankly I really like them! They look comfortable...

Great happiness - if you look good in yellow, GO FOR IT! The rest of us like it but don't wear it to our best effect...

I love this next color - with navy it would be glorious, but against white, in hot weather, it would be great fun...

yes, ... View the Post

Start with a Shirt – Fresh Mint Seersucker Popover

May 12, 2021

I'm sure you don't think about these things, but my schedule is always a mixture of looking back (at blog posts upon which you are currently commenting, but which I prepared 2 or 3 days ago) and forwards - what I'm going to post Friday, Monday, next month...

I share this, because BEFORE I EVER PUBLISHED MONDAY'S POST, I had an impassioned request for a wardrobe based on this shirt!

Our friend has her color palette selected; she's not worried about getting dirty because she doesn't live that kind of life! She's focusing on 3 pastels, with chambray/denim blue and white as her neutrals:

She's even got ONE outfit chosen - this is where she began to experience "wardrobe planning block"...

I'm VERY sympathetic ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #9 – short-sleeved print or patterned top

May 10, 2021

I still believe that the weather will warm up. I believe...

Alert to everyone who follows along with this series - I've made a change to the garment list! A small one: I took the word "neutral" out of the description of this week's top. So long as the top looks really GOOD with your neutrals, it can be any mix of colors that you want!

I don't know why I ever thought thought that it needed to be a neutral. Maybe back when absolutely everything revolved around work wardrobes?

This is the top that I've chosen to be the "representative" of this week's garments. The poster child? The spokesperson?

I'm not quite sure what to call it, but it looks really great with a navy skirt!

I own this next skirt ... View the Post

Can Accessories Tie Together a Wardrobe? Start with Art – Courtesans Strolling Beneath Cherry Trees by Utamaro

May 7, 2021

Ah, it looks relaxed and pretty, if being a courtesan is your thing!

You may remember the 16-piece Four by Four wardrobe that we assembled, based on the colors in this painting:

The big question from many of you was that I hadn't really mixed the rose with the neutrals in the outfits that I showed last week. I think that those "mixed" outfits felt naked to me without something to blend the rose accent with the neutrals. So that's what I've looked at first!

For example, these sandals that seem to be silver, with a gold buckle, and splotches of color on them, are perfect with this simple tee shirt and shorts:

And these next sandals have rose and black in the striped part! And yes, this is a pretty dressy ... View the Post

May 2021 – Six Scarves, 12 Months, 12 Outfits

May 5, 2021

This month, we're finally adding skirts to these wardrobes! (yes, you can easily substitute any other bottom for a skirt if they're not your thing...)

Some wardrobes are getting pretty coherent outfits with the skirt, and for a couple of wardrobes I filled in some blanks and fell prey to prettiness...

This is a pretty somber outfit, but this heroine did not yet have a black tee shirt - that's almost heresy in my world!

Not surprisingly, these garments blend in beautifully:

And each new garment lends itself to at least a couple of new outfits - I suspect I could easily find more!

Now, the color palette that just screams Spring - to me at least!

This is a lovely outfit for warming weather - ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #8 – short-sleeved light neutral shirt

May 3, 2021

It's starting to feel like summer clothes might actually be useful this year!

What we're looking for this week is the "go-to" shirt for warm weather, to be worn either as a shirt on its own, or as a shirt-jacket over a more bare top:

Pink as a neutral is fun, because it looks like an accent color so often!

yes, this is the same black cardigan and pants that we saw last week; being able to wear clothes in lots of different combinations is sort of the point...

If you're wearing a top that's sleeveless and maybe scoop-necked, or open in the back, having a shirt to wear over is good sun protection, air-conditioning protection, and modesty protection!

Maybe your light neutral is warm rather than ... View the Post

Start with Art: Courtesans Strolling Beneath Cherry Trees by Kitawaga Utamaro

April 30, 2021

This post is for those among us who are deeply smitten with a particular color for their spring and summer wardrobe; I think that one can wear quite a bit of their favorite color without sacrificing a coherent wardrobe!

OH, she's got cherry trees...

She's got all KINDS of trees under which she plans to sit; she has a STACK of books that need to be read this summer!

And she has her eye on a particular color that she wants to wear this summer; when she saw this painting she began to formulate her plan:

She eschews the almost green shade of beige, and she chooses to believe that the darkest kimonos are black (while it's possible that they're navy...)

This is what she's starting with:

And this is her ... View the Post

Be back soon

Today's regularly scheduled Vivienne's Files post will be delayed.

Janice will be back ASAP but until then, here's a gorgeous painting of Paris to admire. ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #7 – Dark Neutral Cotton or Linen Cardigan

April 26, 2021

Ah, let's start with a version of my FAVORITE travel outfit...

Even though it gets to be quite hot here in Chicago, I find that I often need a cardigan or jacket when I'm indoors - because of air conditioning, or outdoors in the evenings when the wind turns and blows in off the lake...

This week I chose this black cardigan at least in part so that I could introduce you to COS - a store that I discovered a few years ago in Paris. They now have locations in a lot of countries, and they also do mail order...

My all-time favorite tweed dress came from COS, as well as a couple of tops and a jacket that I quite thoroughly love - I've had excellent luck with buying from them!

We all know how versatile a ... View the Post

April 2021 Start with a Bracelet: The Gentle Lynx

April 23, 2021

She just wants to be calm. Quiet. To walk the streets and admire the architecture and the window displays. Rain or shine...

Her colors are simple - her favorite navy, with the pastels that reflect her desire for peace and harmony:

It will rain. The sun will shine. The temperature could be all over the map. She doesn't care! She can always sit in a cafe until the rain lets up...

She starts with her navy cardigan and skirt, so she knows that she has her neutrals covered! Then she adds a few tops, and her favorite yellow dress...

And why NOT 3 pairs of ballet flats? They're comfortable, they're flattering, and they make her happy - what else might anybody want?

It's not a wardrobe for everybody, ... View the Post

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